Pub group Marston’s who operate 1,440 pubs has reported a 10.1% increase in revenue to £407m in its interim results for the 26 weeks to 1 April 2023, reflecting the business’ continuing recovery.
Like-for-like sales for the period were up 10.7% compared to last year and up 17.9% compared to the 2020 financial year. Drink sales continue to perform well and food sales were “encouraging” with the gap between the two narrowing, the group said, despite the economic environment.
During the period, the group generated £24.3m from “non-core strategic disposals” with the intention to convert the remainder of its tenanted and leased estate to turnover-based models in the medium term. This year, the group said it expected to dispose of £50-60m of non-core and unlicensed properties in total.
| Underlying* | Total* | ||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | ||
| Total revenue | £407.0m | £369.7m | £407.0m | £369.7m | |
| Pub operating profit | £43.1m | £39.9m | £43.1m | £45.9m | |
| Income/(loss) from associates | £2.2m | £(2.0)m | £2.2m | £(2.0)m | |
| Profit/(loss) before Tax | £(3.6)m | £(7.5)m | £(38.1)m** | £25.6m | |
| Net profit/(loss) | £(2.9)m | £(6.1)m | £(28.8)m | £19.4m | |
| Earnings/(loss) per share | (0.5)p | (1.0)p | (4.5)p | 3.1p | |
| Net cash inflow/(outflow) | £11.5m | £(8.9)m | |||
| NAV per share | £0.98 | £0.71 | |||
* All activities relate to continuing operations
**Includes a £34.5 million net loss in respect of interest rate swap movements; a partial reversal of the £109.2 million net gain reported in FY2022
Commenting, Andrew Andrea, CEO said: “The strategy which we outlined 18 months ago is progressing well and generating positive results which is pleasing. Our H1 performance clearly demonstrates that consumers remain as keen as ever to celebrate – and socialise within – the Great British Pub. The macro environment is becoming increasingly stable and recent evidence suggests that both the cost outlook, and consumer confidence, are steadily improving. The actions we are taking are building a demonstrably better business and Marston’s predominantly community pub estate continues to benefit from changing consumer lifestyles.
“We continue to deliver upon our clear strategic objective to reduce debt and progress our path to profitability, albeit the seasonality of our trading profile means that the majority of the Group’s profit is characteristically H2 weighted. We have invested ahead in H1, to capitalise on the benefits of this in H2, and remain on track to meet our operating profit, cash generation and debt reduction targets for the year. We look forward to delivering further positive progress as the year unfolds and remain confident that we have the strategy and the team in place to do so, maximising the opportunities open to us in the future and delivering shareholder value.”
